Admissions Policy on Delayed and Deferred Admission to Primary School

Admissions Policy on Delayed and Deferred Admission to Primary School October 2015 DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p1

Introduction 1 This policy applies to those schools where the City of York Council is the admissions authority that is all community and voluntary controlled primary and infant schools within the City of York area. It applies only to applications within the primary admissions round, that is when applying for a place in Reception as the normal year of entry to start primary or infant school for the first time. 2 This policy may also be adopted by other admissions authorities wishing to reflect the aims of this policy in their own admission arrangements. A list of these schools is available in Section J. 3 This policy complies with and operates within the City of York Coordinated Admissions Scheme for Primary and Infant Schools in the City of York Local Authority area. 4 This policy complies with the Department for Education School Admissions Code 2014 and all relevant guidance on the admission of summer born children into primary and infant schools. 5 The admission of children into the Reception year at an infant or primary school is a completely separate process to nursery admissions. Attendance at a particular nursery class or early years provider does not, unless explicitly stated in the relevant oversubscription criteria for that school, give a child any priority within the admissions policy for admission to an infant or primary school, even if the school and nursery are located on the same premises or the nursery is run by the school itself. 6 Advice and information for parent/carers on school admissions, including key information that applies to all applications as well as some frequently asked questions are available in the Guide for Parents which is available at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents or upon request DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p2

from the School Services team. 7 The admission of children with an education, health and care plan or a statement of special educational needs is covered by different admission regulations, and decisions on the delayed or deferred entry to school of these children should be directed to the relevant Local Authority Special Educational Needs team. A Admissions into Reception 1 Children will normally be admitted into the year group relevant to the child s age and will start full-time in the school year they turn 5. All children will be offered the opportunity of a full time place from September in the year of entry. 2 Children must be attending school on a full time basis when they reach statutory school age - at the start of the school term after the child turns 5. A child born between 01 September and 31 December is of statutory school age from 01 January after they turn 5. A child born between 01 January and 31 March is of statutory school age from 01 April after they turn 5. A child born between 01 April and 31 August (a summer born child) is of statutory school age from 01 September after they turn 5. 3 Parent/carers who do not wish for their child to take up a full time place from September in the school year their child turns 5 have several options available to them, although these depend on their child s date of birth, including the right to: request their child has a part time school place for some of the Reception year, until they are of statutory school age request their child can delay starting school full-time until they are of statutory school age, but in the same year group DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p3

request their child can defer starting school full-time until they are of statutory school age, but in the following year group 4 Information on these three options are included Sections C-E of this policy, together with an example timetable in Section G. 5 Whether or not parent/carers decide to investigate these options further, an application for a school place for starting primary school should still be made between 12 September and 15 January in the school year a child turns 4. Further advice and information can be found in the Guide for Parents and in the relevant admissions policies, available at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions B Part Time provision 1 After being allocated a school place on National Offer Day, parent/carers who are interested in starting their child at school on a part time basis should ask their allocated school what part time provision can be offered. Parent/carers should inform schools of their intention to start their child on a part time basis by 31 May. 2 Children must be attending school on a full time basis when they reach statutory school age - at the start of the school term after the child turns 5. A child born between 01 September and 31 December can be part time only from 01 September to 31 December. A child born between 01 January and 31 March can be part time only from 01 September to 31 March. A child born between 01 April and 31 August (a summer born child) can be part time for the whole first Reception year of school. DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p4

C Delayed Entry 1 After being allocated a school place on National Offer Day, parent/carers who are interested in delaying starting their child at school can do so only until their child is of statutory school age. 2 In these circumstances, parent/carers should clearly communicate their intended start date with their allocated school, and keep in regular contact regarding any changes to this intended date. Parent/carers should inform schools of their intention to delay their child s start date by 31 May. There is no need to reapply for a school place as part of the decision to delay admission into the same year group. A child born between 01 September and 31 December can delay the start of full-time school no later than 01 January. A child born between 01 January and 31 March can delay the start of full-time school no later than 01 April. A child born between 01 April and 31 August (a summer born child) can delay the start of full-time school no later than 01 September. As a result of a delayed start date, this will be a place to start in Year 1. The child would then continue alongside their age-related peers for the duration of their time at school. 3 In the 20 school days before the intended start date, parent/carers should contact the school to make arrangements for the admission of their child. 4 Should a parent/carer not contact a school in the 20 school days before an intended and/or previously communicated start date, schools should make all reasonable efforts to contact the parent/carer by telephone and in writing at any known physical or email addresses. In any letters after failure to establish contact, the parent/carer should DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p5

be informed that the allocated place may be withdrawn if they do not make contact within 10 school days. A sample letter is included as an Appendix to this policy. 5 School places may only then be withdrawn by the admissions authority for the school, where C4 as above has been implemented fully and only where the allocated school (and, if different, the admissions authority) have tried and failed to contact a parent/carer on a number of occasions. D Deferred Entry 1 Parent/Carers of summer born children, that is children born between 01 April and 31 August, may request to defer their child s entry at the date of statutory school age in the following September into the Reception year a younger year group. 2 Parent/Carers wishing to do this should still apply for a school place at the normal time that is by 15 January in the school year their child turns 4. At this time parent/carers should also put in writing that they wish to defer entry for their child to start Reception in the following September, preferably by emailing education@york.gov.uk with the child s details and application reference number. It is recommended that along with this request to the Local Authority, any supporting information or evidence parent/carers may wish to be considered is also submitted, including the written statements of any relevant professionals. Circumstances which the admission authority will take into account include parent/carers wishes; information about the child s academic, social and emotional development; whether they have previously been educated outside their normal age group; and in the case of children born prematurely, whether they would naturally have fallen into the lower age group if born at the expected time. DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p6

3 The Local Authority will then share this information with the admission authorities and head teachers of the school(s) parent/carers have expressed a preference for. These admissions authorities and head teachers will then come to a decision as to whether they support the request for deferred entry. The final decision will be for the admissions authority to make. 4 The Local Authority will then write to parent/carers to confirm the result of these decisions for on-time applications by 28 February. 5 If such a request is approved then the application and preferences originally submitted by 15 January will be withdrawn. No decisions will be made on the basis of the original application. Places are not held open for children who defer entry, so parent/carers must then reapply for a school place by 15 January the following year for a place in Reception alongside children who are one school year younger. Parent/carers may make an identical application for the same schools, or request different schools from their initial application. Parents/carers should be aware that as the numbers of applications and preferences, and even the number of available places, may differ from year to year, that a deferral does not mean a place at the same school can be allocated one year later. It will not be known which school is allocated for an agreed deferral until 16 April in the school year the child turns 5 and the results of the application one year later may result in a different school being allocated. 6 The decision to approve a deferral is agreed between all admissions authorities that are part of this policy and process, namely schools for which the City of York Council is the admissions authority and those schools listed in Section J who have chosen to adopt this policy. Should parent/carers in later years apply for a school place for their child in a different chronological year group than their age-related peers, any decision made under this policy is not binding on other admissions authorities. DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p7

7 When starting school the following September all summer-born children who have deferred entry will have already reached the age of 5 and so will be of statutory school age from the first day of the school year. These children will continue to be one school year behind their age-related peers for the duration of their time at school in York. 8 If the request is not approved, parent carers will be notified of the results of their original application and preferences from 16 April. The options open to parent/carers in these circumstances are outlined above in Sections B-C. E Late Deferral Requests 1 Applications to defer received after the closing date of 15 January in the school year the child turns 4 will be treated as late requests and may not receive a decision by the 28 February as is intended for ontime requests. 2 Where possible such late requests will be dealt with within an intended six weeks from receiving the request. However, school term times and statutory obligations and deadlines such as National Offer Day and the admission appeals period may delay this. 3 Should a request be received after the allocation of places, any subsequent agreed deferral would mean the original offer of a school place is withdrawn and that school place may be offered to another child from the waiting list for that school if applicable. 4 Late requests received after the first day of the school year, and always where a child had started attending a school, should first be discussed by the allocated school and parent/carers. Following these discussions, should both school and parent/carers agree, the deferral process shall be followed as above. DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p8

F Complaints Parent/carers may, should they disagree with the admissions authority about the decision to refuse their summer born child a deferral to the following school year, put their complaint in writing and follow the relevant complaints process for the Local Authority or school (whomever is the admissions authority). There is no statutory right of appeal against a decision. G Timetable In the school year the child turns 4 years old Opening date for applications for all applicants, including those that wish to delay entry and those that wish to defer entry. School admissions by 12 September application for Primary School in September 2017 form made available and online applications start to be accepted at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions Closing date for all applications. Those summer born children wishing to defer entry should also 15 January by this date write to the admissions authority to formally request a deferral including any reasons, and documentation from relevant professionals. Any requests for children to defer entry (along with any information provided) will be sent by the Local Authority to the head teachers of all schools relevant to the application. Head teachers will be 15 January 28 February asked, on the basis of the information provided, whether they support the parent s request. The Local Authority will collate these responses, with the final decision being made by admissions DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p9

by 28 February 16 April (or the next working day) 16 April 31 May authority (for community and voluntary controlled schools the Local Authorty is the admissions authority). The Local Authority will inform those who have requested to defer by 15 January whether this has been approved or refused. If approved, the original application will be withdrawn and a new application must be made in the next school year. National Offer Day for all remaining applicants. Those summer born children who have had a deferral agreed will not receive an offer of a school place and must apply again in the next school year. Parent/Carers of children wishing to delay the start of full time education to communicate and agree with their allocated school their child s start date by 31 May. Parent/Carers interested in what part time school may be available should also request this by 31 May. In the school year the child turns 5 years old Start of the school year. All children may start full Start of the Autumn Term time school from the start of the autumn term. Opening date for applications for summer born children who have had a deferral agreed in the previous year. School admissions application for Primary School in September 2017 form made available and online applications start to be by 12 September accepted at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions. Parents should make clear in their application that a deferral has previously been agreed as the date of birth will fall outside the normal date of birth range for the required admissions round. Children born between 01 September and 31 December may not delay the start of full time Start of the Spring Term school beyond this date as they will have reached statutory school age. DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p10

15 January Start of the Summer Term 16 April (or the next working day) Closing date for applications for summer born children who have had a deferral agreed in the previous year. Children born between 01 January and 31 March may not delay the start of full time school beyond this date as they will have reached statutory school age. National Offer Day for applications for summer born children who have had a deferral agreed in the previous year. In the school year the child turns 6 years old Children born between 01 April and 31 August (summer born children) may not delay the start of full time school beyond this date as they will have reached statutory school age. Start of the Autumn Term Those that have delayed entry to this date will start in Year 1. Those that have deferred entry to this date will start in the Reception year. H Contact details for correspondence City of York Council School Services West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA 01904 551554 education@york.gov.uk DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p11

I City of York Community and Voluntary Controlled Primary and Infant Schools Acomb Primary Badger Hill Primary Bishopthorpe Infant Burton Green Primary Carr Infant Clifton Green Primary Clifton with Rawcliffe Primary Copmanthorpe Primary Dringhouses Primary Dunnington CE Primary Elvington CE Primary Fishergate Primary Headlands Primary Hempland Primary Hob Moor Community Primary Knavesmire Primary Lakeside Primary Lord Deramore s CE Primary Naburn CE Primary Osbaldwick Primary Park Grove Primary Poppleton Road Primary Ralph Butterfield Primary Rufforth Primary Scarcroft Primary Skelton Primary St Barnabas CE Primary St Mary s CE Primary St Oswald s CE Primary St Paul s CE Primary Stockton on the Forest Primary Tang Hall Primary DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p12

Westfield Primary Community Wigginton Primary Woodthorpe Primary Yearsley Grove Primary View school contact details J Other schools who have adopted this policy Haxby Road Primary Academy Heworth CE Primary VA Huntington Primary Academy New Earswick Primary VA Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC Primary VA Poppleton Ousebank Primary Academy Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy St Aelred s RC Primary VA St George s RC Primary VA St Lawrence s CE Primary VA St Wilfrid s RC Primary VA Wheldrake with Thorganby CE Primary VA DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p13

Delayed entry sample letter when parent/carers have failed to contact the school after an intended/previously communicated start date 01 September 2015 Dear Parent/Carer, Re: Delayed entry to <School> for <Child Name> I am writing to you after we have failed to make contact with you by telephone regarding <Child Name> s delayed entry to Reception and intended start date at our school. We ask that in these circumstances, parent/carers contact the school to confirm your plans within 20 school days of the start date, and communicate any changes of circumstances to the school as soon as possible throughout the school year. This enables us to adequately plan for <Child Name> s admission in the Reception year. According to our records, you last informed us on <date informed> that you intended to delay the start date of <Child Name> from the start of the school year in September 2015 until <intended date>. As we have now passed this date, we have yet to hear from you and our attempts at making contact with you have failed, I would be grateful if you could contact us as soon as possible to confirm your intended start date for <Child Name> at our school. It may be that you now have moved address, or arranged for a school place for <Child Name> elsewhere. If this is the case please contact us so we can formally withdraw this school place and offer it to another child. Should you fail to respond to this letter, and not make contact with us by <date 10 school days from receipt of this letter> this school place may be withdrawn by the admissions authority for the school, which is City of York Council. Yours sincerely, <Head teacher> DelayedDeferredPolicy_October2015, p14